William Allen Bottrell (born October 27, 1952) is an American record producer and songwriter. He is perhaps best known for his production and uncredited guest appearance on

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Michael Jackson, one of the most culturally significan ...

's 1991 single "

Black or White "Black or White" is a song by American singer Michael Jackson, released by Epic Records on November 11, 1991, as the first single from Jackson's eighth studio album, '' Dangerous'' (1991). Jackson wrote, composed, and produced the track with rec ...

", which peaked the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. A

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

recipient and six-time nominee, he has also produced for musical acts such as

Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone ( ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. Referred to as the "Queen of Pop", she has been recognized for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, ...

Tom Petty Thomas Earl Petty (October 20, 1950October 2, 2017) was an American singer, songwriter, and musician. He was the leader and frontman of the Rock music, rock bands Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and Mudcrutch and a member of the late 1980s sup ...

Electric Light Orchestra The Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) are an English rock band formed in Birmingham in 1970 by multi-instrumentalists Jeff Lynne and Roy Wood and drummer Bev Bevan. Their music is characterised by a fusion of pop and classical arrangement ...

Sheryl Crow Sheryl Suzanne Crow (born February 11, 1962) is an American singer-songwriter, musician, and actress. She is noted for her Optimism, optimistic and Idealism, idealistic subject matter, and incorporation of genres including Rock music, rock, Po ...

Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, songwriter and pianist. His music and showmanship have had a significant, lasting impact on the music industry, and his songwriting partnership with l ...

, and

Five for Fighting Vladimir John Ondrasik III (born January 7, 1965), also known by his stage name Five for Fighting, is an American singer-songwriter and pianist. He is best known for his piano-based soft rock, such as the top 40 hits " Superman (It's Not Easy)" ...

, among others.

Biography

Between 1967 and 1970, Bottrell attended Crescenta Valley Senior High in La Crescenta, California, he spent his junior year (1968–1969) at The Frankfurt International School in Oberursel, West Germany. He graduated in 1970 from Crescenta Valley Senior High. He attended the

University of California, Santa Barbara The University of California, Santa Barbara (UC Santa Barbara or UCSB) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Santa Barbara County, California, United States. Tracing its roots back to 1891 as an ...

between 1970 and 1972, studying for a bachelor's degree in music. In 1974, he married Elizabeth Jordan, whom he met in high school. That same year, Bottrell got his first job in music, as an engineer at California Recording Studio in

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...

. In 1978, he moved over to Soundcastle Studios in Silverlake, where he met

Jeff Lynne Jeffrey Lynne (born 30 December 1947) is an English musician, singer-songwriter and record producer. He is the co-founder and, latterly, sole member of the rock band Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) which was formed in 1970. He has written all of ...

, who eventually hired him to engineer for ELO. In 1979 his daughter Adrianne was born. The 1980s were spent freelance engineering between

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

and

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, with clients including:

The Jacksons The Jackson 5, later known as the Jacksons, are an American pop band composed of members of the Jackson family. The group was formed in Gary, Indiana in 1964, and originally consisted of brothers Jackie, Ti ...

, ELO,

George Harrison George Harrison (25 February 1943 – 29 November 2001) was an English musician, singer and songwriter who achieved international fame as the lead guitarist of the Beatles. Sometimes called "the quiet Beatle", Harrison embraced Culture ...

Starship A starship, starcraft, or interstellar spacecraft is a theoretical spacecraft designed for interstellar travel, traveling between planetary systems. The term is mostly found in science fiction. Reference to a "star-ship" appears as early as 1 ...

and

. Daughter Laura was born in 1983. He worked for Michael Jackson at his house in Encino between 1983 and 1986, recording tracks for ''

Bad Bad or BAD may refer to: Common meanings *Evil, the opposite of moral good * Erroneous, inaccurate or incorrect * Unhealthy, or counter to well-being *Antagonist, the threat or obstacle of moral good Acronyms * BAD-2, a Soviet armored trolley ...

''. In 1988, Bottrell co-produced his first record, '' Aliens Ate My Buick'' by

Thomas Dolby Thomas Morgan Robertson (born 14 October 1958), known by the stage name Thomas Dolby, is an English musician, producer, composer, entrepreneur and teacher. Dolby came to prominence in the 1980s, releasing hit singles including "She Blinded Me ...

. In 1989, Michael Jackson asked him to co-produce, engineer and write songs for his album '' Dangerous'', co-writing and rapping on the album's biggest hit, "

". The song spent 7 weeks at number one on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart in the fall of 1991. Bottrell's son William was born under difficult circumstances in 1990. That year, Bottrell built his own recording studio, ''Toad Hall Studio'', next door to the

Pasadena Playhouse Pasadena Playhouse is a Tony Award-winning historic performing arts venue located 39 S. El Molino Avenue in Pasadena, California. The 686-seat auditorium produces a variety of cultural and artistic events, professional shows, and community engag ...

Pasadena, California Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commerci ...

and founded a weekly

jam session A jam session is a relatively informal musical event, process, or activity where musicians, typically instrumentalists, play improvised solos and vamp over tunes, drones, songs, and chord progressions. To "jam" is to improvise music without ...

called the "Tuesday Night Music Club". One of the resulting acts was

, whose 1993 debut album (produced and co-written by Bottrell) was entitled '' Tuesday Night Music Club''. Her single " All I Wanna Do" from that album won the

Grammy Award for Record of the Year The Grammy Award for Record of the Year is presented by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to "honor artistic achievement, technical proficiency and overall excellence in the recording industry, without reg ...

at the 37th Annual awards in 1994 for Bottrell and Crow. The album won two additional Grammys and sold 3.8 million in the US. Bottrell was nominated for another Grammy for his work on

Shelby Lynne Shelby Lynne (born Shelby Lynn Moorer, October 22, 1968) is an American singer and songwriter and the older sister of singer-songwriter Allison Moorer. The success of her pop rock album '' I Am Shelby Lynne'' (1999) led to her winning the Grammy A ...

's 1999 breakout album, '' I Am Shelby Lynne''. During the making of that album, he closed his recording studio and moved his family of five to Northern California. His son William died after falling off a cliff in 1998. Bottrell separated from with Elizabeth in 1998 and the couple divorced in 2000. In 2020, Bottrell participated virtually in Kingvention: KV Global, the online edition of the annual Michael Jackson fan convention held during the COVID-19 pandemic. He later appeared in person at the 2022 Kingvention event in London.

Discography

*1981: " Hold On Tight" –

*1983: ''Northbound'' – Northbound *1983: '' Secret Messages'' – Electric Light Orchestra *1984: ''

Victory The term victory (from ) originally applied to warfare, and denotes success achieved in personal duel, combat, after military operations in general or, by extension, in any competition. Success in a military campaign constitutes a strategic vi ...

'' –

*1986: '' Balance of Power'' – Electric Light Orchestra *1987: ''

'' –

*1988: '' Aliens Ate My Buick'' –

*1988: '' Traveling Wilburys Vol. 1'' –

Traveling Wilburys The Traveling Wilburys were a British-American supergroup formed in Los Angeles in 1988, consisting of Bob Dylan, George Harrison, Jeff Lynne, Roy Orbison and Tom Petty. They were a roots rock band and described as "perhaps the biggest sup ...

*1988: "Streetwalker" – Michael Jackson (released 2001) *1989: '' Like a Prayer'' –

*1989: '' Full Moon Fever'' –

*1989: "Monkey Business" – Michael Jackson (released 2004) *1990: '' I'm Breathless: Music from and Inspired by the Film Dick Tracy'' – Madonna *1990: '' Toy Matinee'' – Toy Matinee *1991: '' Truth or Dare'' – Madonna *1991: '' Dangerous'' – Michael Jackson *1991: "

" – Michael Jackson *1991: " Give In to Me" – Michael Jackson *1991: " Who Is It" – Michael Jackson *1991: ''No Soul No Strain'' – Wire Train *1992: ''Triage'' – David Baerwald *1993: '' Tuesday Night Music Club'' –

*1994: '' When I Woke'' – Rusted Root *1995: " Earth Song" – Michael Jackson *1995: ''In Flight'' – Linda Perry *1997: ''Restless Heart'' – Tex Beaumont *1999: '' I Am Shelby Lynne'' –

*2000: " Surrender" –

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers were an American rock band formed in Gainesville, Florida, in 1976. The band originally comprised lead singer and rhythm guitarist Tom Petty, lead guitarist Mike Campbell, keyboardist Benmont Tench, drummer ...

*2000: "For Real" – Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers (released in 2019) *2000: ''The House We Built'' – Alisha's Attic *2001: ''

Songs from the West Coast ''Songs from the West Coast'' is the twenty-sixth studio album by English musician Elton John, released worldwide on 1 October 2001. Background For this album, Elton John once again collaborated with long-time lyricist Bernie Taupin, marking ...

'' –

*2002: '' Welcome to My Party'' – Rusted Root *2002: ''Class of Dude'' – The Stokemen *2002: ''Rise'' –

Kim Richey Kimberly Richey (born December 1, 1956) is an American singer and songwriter. Early life Richey was born in Zanesville, Ohio, on December 1, 1956. She grew up in Kettering, Ohio, graduating from Fairmont East High school in 1973. Career Riche ...

*2003: ''Free'' – Luan Parle *2004: ''Liam Titcomb'' – Liam Titcomb *2004: ''Benji Hughes'' – Benji Hughes (unreleased) *2004: '' The Battle for Everything'' –

*2005: ''Annie Stela'' – Annie Stela *2005: ''Sierra Swan'' – Sierra Swan *2005: '' Black Cadillac'' –

Rosanne Cash Rosanne Cash (born May 24, 1955) is an American singer-songwriter and author. She is the eldest daughter of country musician Johnny Cash and his first wife, Vivian Cash. Although Cash is often classified as a country artist, her music draws f ...

*2006: "Save Me from Myself" –

Christina Aguilera Christina María Aguilera ( , ; born December 18, 1980) is an American singer-songwriter, actress and television personality. Recognized as Cultural impact of Christina Aguilera, an influential figure in music and having received Public imag ...

*2006: '' Bird on a Wire'' – Toby Lightman *2006: ''On The Jungle Floor'' –

Van Hunt Van Hunt Jr. (born March 8, 1970) is an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and record producer. He released his debut album, '' Van Hunt'', in 2004, and a follow-up, '' On the Jungle Floor'', in 2006, both on Capitol Records. He w ...

*2007: '' Ex-Sensitive'' –

Ben Jelen Benjamin Ivan Jelen (born 8 July 1979) is a Scottish people, Scottish-born American former singer-songwriter who plays the piano, violin, and guitar. He has lived in Scotland, England, Texas, New Jersey and New York. His career has been characte ...

*2008: '' Detours'' – Sheryl Crow

References

External links

* *
Bill Bottrell Music MySpace

Bill Bottrell Unofficial Italian Website

Tuesday Night Music Club – Unofficial Italian Website (new version)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bottrell, Bill 1952 births Living people Songwriters from California Record producers from California Grammy Award winners University of California, Santa Barbara alumni